Isaiah 37:3

And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. A DAY ... OF REBUKE - i:e., the Lord's rebuke for His people's sins (). BLASPHEMY - blasphemous railing of Rabshakeh. THE CHILDREN ... NOT STRENGTH TO BRING FORTH - a proverbial expression for, We are in the most extreme danger, and have no power to avert it (cf. note, )....

THIS IS A DAY OF REBUKE - This may refer either to the reproaches of Rabsbakeh, or more probably to the fact that Hezekiah regarded the Lord as rebuking his people for their sins. The word which is used here (תוכחח _tôkēchâh_), means more properly chastisement or punishment Psalms 149:7; Hosea 5:9. AND OF BLASPHEMY - Margin, ‘Provocation.’ The word used here (נאצה _n__e__'âtsâh_), means properly reproach or contumely; and the sense is, that God and his cause had been vilified by Rabshakeh, and it was proper to appeal to him to vindicate the honor of his own name Isaiah 37:

EXPOSITION This chapter is the sequel of the preceding, and is so closely connected with it that the two really constitute but one narrative. Isaiah 37:22 of Isaiah 36:1. is more closely connected with Isaiah 37:1, than with the position of the narrative to which it is attached. ISAIAH 37:1 WHEN KING HEZEKIAH HEARD IT; rather, _heard them_;_ i.e._ the "words of Rabshakeh," which his officials reported to him. HE RENT HIS CLOTHES. He did as they had done (Isaiah 36:22

AND THEY SAID UNTO HIM,.... The messengers to the prophet: THUS SAITH HEZEKIAH; this is the message he has sent us with; this is what he would have us lay before thee, and has given us in charge to say unto thee: THIS DAY IS A DAY OF TROUBLE, AND OF REBUKE, AND OF BLASPHEMY; it was a "day of trouble" to Hezekiah and his people, because it was a "day of rebuke", in which God rebuked them for their sins; or of "reproach and reviling", as the Targum and Septuagint, in which the Assyrians reviled and reproached both God and them; and especially because it was a "day of blasphemy" against God: FOR THE CHILDREN ARE COME TO THE BIRTH, AND THERE IS NOT STRENGTH TO BRING FORTH; which is to be understood not of the reformation within themselves, happily begun and carried on, but now hindered from being brought to perfection, by the Assyrian army being so near them; nor of their attempt to cast...

CHAPTER 37 Hezekiah in the House of the Lord and Sennacherib's Second Attempt 1. _Hezekiah's humiliation and Isaiah sent for (Isaiah 37:1)_ 2. _The message from the prophet (Isaiah 37:6)_ 3. _Rabshakeh's letter (Isaiah 37:8)_ 4. _Hezekiah's prayer (Isaiah 37:14)_ 5. _The prayer answered (Isaiah 37:21)_ 6. _The army of Sennacherib judged (Isaiah 37:36)_ 7. The judgment upon Sennacherib ...

ISAIAH 36-39. This section has been extracted from 2 Kings 18:13 to 2 Kings 20:19, and the Song of Hezekiah has been added. For an exposition see the notes on 2 K.; here we have simply to deal with the Song of Hezekiah. ISAIAH 38:10. THANKSGIVING FOR DELIVERANCE FROM IMMINENT DEATH. This is now generally regarded as a post-exilic psalm. Its absence in the parallel narratine in Kings is significant. Apparently it was inserted here by an editor who thought it suitable to Hezekiah's circumstances. If, as seems likely, it has been influenced by the Book of Job, it must be post-exilic. The title cannot, any more than the Psalm titles, weigh against internal evidence. Hezekiah's writing after his recov

BLASPHEMY. reproach. Note the reference to this in Hezekiah's "Song of Degrees"....

_a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy_ Rather, of DISTRESS AND CHASTISEMENT AND REJECTION. The word for "blasphemy" (Nehemiah 9:18; Nehemiah 9:26; Ezekiel 35:12) is differently pointed from that here used, which occurs only here and in 2 Kings 19:3. The sense "rejection" suits the context better; the king speaks of the "distress" as a Divine dispensation. _the children are come to the birth_ Obviously a proverbial expression for a crisis which becomes dangerous through lack of strength to meet it (cf. ch. Isaiah 66:9;...

FOR THE CHILDREN ARE COME TO THE BIRTH— This was a proverbial expression, used to convey ideas of the greatest calamity and almost inevitable danger. Procopius thus explains the words: "We are in pain to hear such blasphemous expressions, but are unable to punish those who have made use of them." Vitringa says the meaning is, "Matters are now in the utmost distress; so that, unless some extraordinary remedy or help be brought, there is an end of the public and domestic safety." The idea is taken from a woman in child-birth, so greatly weakened by her pains, that without some extraordinary assistance there can be no hope of her delivery. See Hosea 13:13....

B. PERSEVERANCE, CHAPTER 37 1. THE PLEA TEXT: Isaiah 37:1-7 1 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Jehovah. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah, the prophet the son of Amoz. 3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of contumely; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. 4 It may be Jehovah thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left. 5 So the servan